Eat less, live longer (Calorie restriction theory)

[kbits]

Dunno if this has been discussed here before, but it certainly is interesting!

So what started all of this voluntary restriction? CR Society members point to a body of research starting with mice, and since extended to rats, dogs, cows, and a number of other animals showing that animals with restricted diets lived longer, healthier lives than those who were free-fed. Not just longer average lives, but truly extended lives, with up to a 40% longer maximum lifespan than the control animals. Studies on rhesus monkeys, though not yet complete, indicate that CR works to extend their lives as well, though less dramatically than for rodents - about 10-20% over the controls.

http://www.damninteresting.com/?p=530

But -

http://www.comagz.com/webmagazine/story ... lifespan_f

[bonnieUK]

"Would you be willing to semi-starve in order to live longer?"

My answer would be a definite NO!
I'm all in favour of eating healthily and restricting quantity to a sensible limit (e.g. 3 meals a day and No S's). But I love my food! To me the CR approach seems kind of like having really cool Ferrari and then letting it sit unused in your garage so it'll last longer

[BrightAngel]

"Would you be willing to semi-starve in order to live longer?"

My answer would be a definite NO!
the CR approach seems kind of like having really cool Ferrari and then letting it sit unused in your garage so it'll last longer

You express my sentiments exactly.

[reinhard]

Yeah... this CR stuff is interesting. And the evidence from lab animals does seem compelling. But there seems to be something almost ironically misguided to me about torturing yourself to live longer. It's kind of like engineering your own hell on earth, stretching yourself out on the rack in order to live a little longer (go to the real hell and you can have that forever!). I guess it's possible some people get some kind of high from the mortification of the flesh, but I personally would at least need some higher cause than wraith-like self-preservation to make this seem remotely attractive.

Reinhard

[kbits]

Good call. That's always been a sticking point for me too with the CR stuff.

Longevity vs Quality of Life.

Dunno - maybe some ex-CR folks (if they're here?) can chime in?

[Nichole]

Ugh... starving yourself has to be the most horrible feeling in the world.

[NoelFigart]

Dum Vivimus, vivamus.

I'll pass on CR, meeself.

[Dawn]

I remember seeing something like this on TV once, maybe this is exactly what it was, I just don't remember what it was called. Anyway, there was this skeletal guy going on and on about studies showing how much longer we can live if we barely eat enough to exist. He was the dullest person I have ever seen, wonder if that is a coincidence or not? Also his skin was gray - totally unattractive!

[pismo]

Slate published an interesting pair of articles last year looking at the link between CR and eating disorders. Here is the first one containing the link to the second one.

http://www.slate.com/id/2164436/entry/2164437/

[Mavilu]

Very interesting article, Pismo, thanks!, you gotta love the drawing on the first page; it says so much with nary a word!.

On CR:
My godmother was orthorexic (never diagnosed, because there was no diagnostic criteria at the time) for many many years and it was a sad picture to see her so fragile, so squeletal, always carrying her water crackers and her bouillon cubes around because that's all she could eat without fear of "getting sick" or eating "unhealthy food".
She would faint all the time and it's my personal belief that the only thing that kept her functioning was that her chain smoking kept her blood pressure a bit higher that it should have been, otherwise, i just don't know how she even managed to walk around.
She started out by cutting out foods that were "unhealthy", no refined sugars, no animal fat (at first), etc., then she started believing that many foods where bad for the digestion and she cut more, then she truly believe the rest was making her sick...
She never had weight issues, she just wanted to be healthy and that obsession ultimately killed her five years ago.
Isn't that tragic?
It makes me think of CR, I know it's not the same, but some of the parallels can be uncanny.

[kccc]

Slate published an interesting pair of articles last year looking at the link between CR and eating disorders. Here is the first one containing the link to the second one.

http://www.slate.com/id/2164436/entry/2164437/

That is totally fascinating... and so obvious, when pointed out.

I choose moderation in all things, including moderation.

[blueskighs]

I dabbled in CR last year after reading the Longevity Diet. I did it with a grain of salt because I certainly never acheived anything like CR ... ANYWAY what I did learn was this .. I was binging regularly once or twice a week. I really was not "consicous" that my binges were that frequent. I honestly thought that I was doing much better.

I quit CR ... I really DON'T like counting calories AT ALL ... and took a circuitious route to NO S.

I thought I came a bit orthorexic after doing grey sheet in OA about twenty years ago.

I have not ever been anything close to anorexic.

All that being said, I LOVE NO S. Why? For me personally, it just means I don't have to pay attention to this stuff anymore

Blueskighs

[flipturn]

Mavilu -- My mother-in-law ate exactly like your godmother. Her idea of lunch was lettuce leaves. The woman did not eat but was well-known for her glorious dinner parties. She, of course, would not permit herself to eat most of the food that she took great pride in serving to others. When she was 90 years old, she could still fit into her wedding gown. Okay, it is great that she was the same dress size for 65 years, but she was severely food-deprived and a real b****!

[NoelFigart]

If anyone's ever read Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman, there's a character that does CR (though it's never explicitly stated as CR, she did stop eating much in an attempt to live longer).

I found the character fascinating.